Star Fox: The Rise of Panther
by FoxRocks
Summary: The Star Fox team finally receives a break after destroying the Aparoid Queen and ending the Aparoid threat. However, Fox McCloud, the leader of the team, initially struggles with loneliness, and must also deal with the return of a foe bent on capturing Krystal. Please enjoy!
1. Prologue

**Chapter 1**

James McCloud smiled with a closed mouth, his sunglasses blocking his vivid emerald-colored eyes. On one side was a happy-looking rabbit with red eyes and big ears, looking as lively as he ever had in his life. And on the other side was an ugly-looking pig, his expression hard to read.

Fox McCloud put the framed picture inside of his bag with a sad sigh. James was Fox's father, the original leader of the Star Fox team. Peppy and Pigma had been his wingmates; Peppy was the last living one…

Pigma had betrayed the team out of his lust for money and let the mad scientist Andross kill James. Peppy had barely escaped, and lived to support Star Fox since. Pigma had been killed during the invasion of the Aparoids by Fox. But revenge wasn't good enough; Fox longed to see his father just one last time…

Fox pulled himself back into reality to continue packing his belongings.

_Moving is such a pain…_ Fox thought.

He decided to move anyway since his house had fallen victim to the Aparoid attack; Aparoids were vicious aliens that attacked the Lylat System, and Corneria (Fox's home planet) had suffered as well. However, rebuilding most houses had been a smooth process, much to everyone's relief.

Due to the fact that he led the Star Fox team to victory, it was decided Fox would be given a brand new house by the Cornerian government. Unfortunately its former leader, General Pepper, had fallen ill and died in the midst of the Aparoid attack. Peppy had taken over Pepper's place as the leader of Corneria, and had control over the military like Pepper once had.

Many things had changed over the last few months, including a break for the entire team ever since Star Fox had destroyed the Aparoid Queen. Breaks were unusual, but it sure as heck was nice to have one.

Fox was average in height, wore a white jacket, had a green shirt and pants, red boots, and had emerald eyes like his father. Fighting wars for Lylat was more than just freedom; it was also his father's legacy. Thus, Fox felt the responsibility to fight for the world along with his teammates.

First, there was Falco Lombardi, a tall and cocky blue bird that loved action. He was also the ace pilot of the group. Then there was Slippy Toad, a jumpy green frog who served as the team's mechanic. Finally, there was Krystal, a blue vixen who was rescued by Fox from Planet Sauria a couple of years ago. Peppy had served as their instructor, but now took over General Pepper's role.

Fox knew what most of his teammates would do in their vacation time; Falco would likely be breaking up and getting back together with his on-and-off girlfriend Katt Monroe. Slippy would be spending time with his dad Beltino working on some inventions. Peppy would be too wrapped up in his office work. And Krystal…

Fox didn't know what Krystal would be up to; she was easily the most mysterious of the group. Fox considered spending more time with her; he knew he loved her, but he wondered if she loved him back. It was the wonder that made Fox feel alone on the inside; sure he had Falco and Slippy, his two best friends – but what he didn't have was family…

After packing his last few possessions, Fox took three trips with all of his bags to his dark blue car outside. Upon loading it up, he stepped into the driver's seat and began driving to his new home.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Unfortunately, the trip was long and tiresome to Fox's new home. He would have preferred something quick and easy, mostly because he hadn't slept in days; the bloodshot eyes proved it. However, he figured it was better to move sooner than later so he wouldn't have to deal with trying to sleep with half a roof above him.

Fox was happy to notice that most houses he drove by were completely repaired. It had been Pepper's dying wish that repairs were made as quickly as possible. Fox had always held much respect for General Pepper, but never so much as he did after Pepper's death. It was then that Fox truly believed that he could never fully realize what he had until it was gone…

After a few hours of driving, Fox finally arrived at his house. He was thoroughly impressed at first glance; it was a big, yellow house with small windows and a tall white door. Fox's previous house had been painted white and was fairly small. He was surprised to see Peppy Hare coming out of the door to greet him.

"It's great to see you again Fox!" Peppy said, throwing his arms around Fox in a bear hug.

Gasping for breath, Fox replied, "It's great to see you too Peppy."

Upon releasing him, Peppy gave a hearty chuckle. He was dressed in the red and gold general's outfit and black boots. He also had his small spectacles worn across his fading red eyes. Fox noticed they had once appeared much darker and livelier…

"So how's life been?" asked Peppy.

"It's fine," Fox lied. "I think the real question is how yours has been since you have a planet to govern?"

Peppy chuckled again. "It's been very exhausting, Fox. Between you and me, it's not the type of job I'd ever want."

Before Fox could ask, Peppy seemed to have read his mind as he spoke, "I do it because Pepper wanted me too. The last thing I'd want is to disappoint him; it was so very unfortunate the Aparoids gave him that fatal disease. Beltino diagnosed that the odds were slim of Pepper having caught it."

Fox stared at the ground, and he began to feel guilt.

"It's my fault," Fox said suddenly.

Peppy looked bewildered. "What do you mean?"

Returning his gaze to Peppy, Fox continued, "I'm the head of the Star Fox team. It was my responsibility to protect everyone, including Pepper. I feel like I've failed him; if anyone should have prevented this, it was me…"

Peppy's eyes suddenly looked much sadder than before. Resting his hand on Fox's shoulder, Peppy reassured, "There's no way to prevent casualties in war, Fox. In this case, it was Pepper that died. It was no one's fault but the Aparoids that he had died."

Fox realized he had upset Peppy by taking the blame; Peppy had always treated Fox like a son ever since James's death. And Fox had always thought of Peppy as a father-figure. Fox would never want to put Peppy in more depression than he was already in.

"You're right Peppy," said Fox. "So how does the house look on the inside?"

Relieved that the topic had been changed, Peppy briskly returned, "Why don't we go in and see?"

The fox and rabbit ran together up the steps and into the house. Fox was pleasantly surprised; the inside looked even bigger than the outside. After looking at the house, Fox recalled there was a large kitchen, four bedrooms (each already had a bed installed), a huge basement, a guest room, and many oversized hallways. Following the exploration, Peppy helped Fox bring his bags inside the new house.

After setting everything up in the house together, the two had a late lunch together at the 'Rose Café'. Peppy ordered a few sandwiches, while Fox ordered a small pizza. It was so relaxing and nice to be doing something with a friend that didn't involve fighting! Fox never thought he'd know the feeling again back when he was fighting the Aparoids.

"I used to come here with Vivian all the time," Peppy said suddenly. It was much to Fox's surprise that Peppy would mention his deceased wife.

"We always spent less time eating and more time talking. I tried taking my daughter Lucy here a couple of times, but she's not too interested in the food either. I just wish I could regain that special bond I had with Vivian…"

Following that, there was a long moment of silence. Fox couldn't comprehend all of Peppy's pain; yes, Fox had lost both his father and Pepper, but he never knew them as well as would have liked. James had always been out fighting or with Vixy, Fox's dead mother. It wasn't until Fox was a late teenager that he started to see his father more. Even then, it never could have been enough time together…

Peppy turned to look at Fox again. "There's this weird thing about getting older. It feels like I keep losing something every day. Maybe it's confidence… I'm not sure…"

Fox held much sympathy for Peppy. Not only had he lost his wife, but his friends Pepper and James as well. In a way, Fox had always feared growing old; friends and family die over time, some more abruptly than others. He had always hoped he would die before most of them so he wouldn't have that pain. He wondered if anyone else he knew felt the same way.

After they finished eating and talking more, Fox and Peppy returned to Fox's house where they said goodbye to each other. Despite sad topics, Fox felt happy whenever he spent time with Peppy. It was the feeling he got the few times he had spent time with James; Fox would be eternally grateful for Peppy's fatherly affection.

Fox had another hard time trying to get some sleep that night. However, the pre-installed beds were still very comfortable. Before he could even try to sleep more, the phone started ringing at about 2:00 A.M. Fox ran down the stairs to his phone and picked it up as quickly as he could manage.

"Hello?" Fox asked. He had not even bothered to check the number.

"Where is she?" A voice called back.

_Who the heck is this? _Fox thought.

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Fox threw back.

"Where is Krystal?" Panther Caroso responded.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Fox suddenly recognized the voice belonged to Panther. Before anything else could be said, Fox slammed the phone back into its holder and ran upstairs to grab his white coat and blaster gun. Then he ran back downstairs and into his car, driving in the direction of Krystal's house.

_How did he know my number? _Fox wondered. _Why did he call me? Why is he after Krystal…?_

Before he could jump to any conclusions, laser streaks appeared along the sides of his car. He whipped around to see someone firing a gun at him from behind! Stepping harder on the accelerator, Fox began to weave through the traffic as quickly as he could without getting hit.

_It figures Corneria would still have traffic at 2:00 A.M._ Fox thought to himself.

Upon glancing in the mirror, Fox could see his pursuer recklessly shooting other cars in his path. Fox grabbed his blaster and rolled down the window, proceeding to shoot at the attacker. Luckily, one of the shots found their way into the car's tire, bringing the vehicle to an abrupt halt.

The attack swiftly jumped out his car and started hopping aboard the other moving cars in the traffic; clearly, he was desperate to not let Fox escape. Eventually, the attacker was able to hop onto Fox's car. The attacker was revealed to be a scraggly-looking cat with pale yellow eyes as he tried to climb into the car's window.

Fox threw a punch that narrowly missed his opponent. The cat aimed his blaster at Fox; instinctively, Fox swerved his car hard, throwing the cat off the roof and onto the road. The attacker met a grizzly end as a truck drove over his body. A few cars had been stopped in the process; Fox didn't have time to worry about anything but Krystal right now.

_It must have been someone working for Star Wolf… _Fox thought.

Panther Caroso was a flirty, dark blue cat that had been smitten with Krystal ever since he met her. Star Fox had their first run-in with him at the Sargasso Space Zone, a hideout for criminals, during the Aparoid Invasion. He had joined Star Wolf after Pigma Dengar and Andrew Oikonny had been kicked out. Everyone in the Star Fox team considered Panther the least threatening member of Star Wolf compared to the leader Wolf O'Donnell and veteran Leon Powalski.

As Fox drew near Krystal's house, which had also been newly built since the Invasion, he worried that more attackers might follow him. Either that, or they may have already ransacked his house; maybe both! However, the main priority right now was to keep Krystal protected. Fox quickly ran out of his car to Krystal's door, rapidly knocking once he arrived.

_Nearly 3:00 A.M. _Thought Fox. _Hopefully she'll answer._

Much to Fox's surprise, Krystal briskly answered the door and looked more awake than ever. She smiled at the sight of him, happy to have his company.

"Fox, it's so good to see you again!" said Krystal.

"Krystal, may I please come in?" Fox asked, his expression worried and exhausted.

"Of course – right this way," Krystal said, leading him into her house.

Fox was impressed with the house; it appeared almost as big as his, and he guessed the setup was similar. The two sat down together on a sofa in the living room. There was a window to their left, and a table in the middle of the room. Krystal's green eyes were focused on Fox, and she could tell something was wrong.

"I'm surprised you're still awake!" Fox was the first to talk again.

Krystal laughed. "I don't sleep a whole lot. So what brings you here at this hour?"

Fox straightened up and looked directly at Krystal, their green eyes now locked together.

"Panther's after you," Fox replied. "He called me an hour ago asking me where you were. I drove here as quickly as I could to make sure you were okay…"

Krystal remained silent for a moment to take all this in. Many questions suddenly swirled around her mind.

"How did Panther know your phone number?" she asked first.

"I wondered the same thing," Fox answered. "After I left for your house, I was attacked by a cat mercenary. My guess is that Star Wolf sent Panther to kidnap you, and he obviously had backup."

Krystal's eyes suddenly showed concern as she put a hand to Fox's cheek. "Are you alright?"

Blushing slightly, Fox said, "I'm fine. Don't even worry about me; I needed to make sure he hadn't got to you before me."

Reluctantly, Krystal pulled her hand away from Fox. "Do you think it's safe here?"

"I'm not sure," Fox replied. "We might want to spend the night somewhere else just to be safe. I have a suspicion that they may have broken into my house already."

Krystal nodded. "We should probably leave now then. Why don't we go to 'Matthew's Hotel'? It's not too expensive, and it's very close by."

Fox agreed. "We'll go there. Quick, let's get into my car."

The two ran out of Krystal's house, but not before Krystal grabbed her blaster just in case. Fox tried to drive at a decent speed so that he wouldn't upset Krystal even more. Fortunately the hotel was just a few miles away. Once they arrived, they hid their guns in Fox's coat and approached the desk attendant. His back was turned on them.

"Could you please get us a room?" asked Fox hurriedly.

All of a sudden, the attendant spun around to reveal himself as Panther Caroso, pointing dual pistols at Fox and Krystal.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As soon as Panther had revealed himself, a few guards jumped out behind the hotel's furniture with guns as well. Before they knew it, Fox and Krystal had been surrounded. Panther began to walk toward them with a smirk plastered across his face.

"Fox! Krystal! How lovely it is to see you again!" Panther said casually, keeping his guns trained on them.

"Before you kill us," said Fox, "could you at least give us some answers?"

Panther suddenly jumped at Fox, his gun now pointed at Fox's head.

"What kind of answers?" asked Panther.

"How did you know my phone number? Why are you after Krystal? How did you know we'd be here?" Fox started to question.

"Very well," Panther decided. "I got your number from some Cornerian General dog that said you and him were close. He also gave me both of your addresses. The cat that tried to kill you was one of my men of course, and as you can see, I still have more henchmen. I didn't know for sure you'd be here, but I had a hunch; I sent some of my men to both of your houses just in case."

"Bill!" Fox exclaimed. "You got your information from Bill Grey?"

Panther shrugged. "I dunno. He didn't tell me his name."

"Wait a minute – what does Star Wolf want with us anyway?" Fox asked.

Panther spat on the ground. "Star Wolf and I are no longer related. O'Donnell kicked me out when I asked about going after you guys; lucky for me, I was still able to accomplish the task without those scumbags. Now I can kill you, Fox, and have all sorts of fun with Krystal afterward!" he finished with licking his lips.

Fox gave Krystal the signal with a nod, and without warning kicked Panther back into the desk. Fox and Krystal revealed their guns, rapidly shooting at all the guards surrounding them. Having been taken by surprise, all of them were killed but one who hid behind a couch. Fox jumped to the side of the couch and shot the last guard quickly.

"Fox, he's trying to escape!" Krystal shouted.

Fox turned around to see Panther running down the hotel's hallway.

"Krystal, I want you to call the authorities and get them down here. I'll take care of Panther," Fox instructed.

Krystal nodded as Fox ran down the hallway in pursuit of Panther. He had to duck several times to avoid the lasers from Panther's dual guns. Panther was able to hop into the elevator before Fox could catch him; reacting quickly, Fox ran up the stairway to catch up to Panther.

As soon as the elevator door opened, Fox slammed his body into Panther, causing the cat to drop one of his guns. Fox kicked the other out of Panther's hand. Scrambling to his feet, Panther threw a punch into Fox's abdomen. Retaliating, Fox grabbed hold of Panther's body and threw him into one of the hotel's doors, causing him to break through the wood and fall into the room.

Panther was temporarily unconscious, luckily for Fox. The next moment, Krystal came running to Fox's side.

"I called the police; they should be here any second," Krystal informed him.

The two casually walked further into the room, and noticed a dog tied up and gagged in the corner. Krystal untied his arms and legs while Fox took off the mouth-gag.

"Who are you?" Fox asked.

"My name's Walter. I'm the manager of this hotel; that guy you just threw in here tied me up for some reason. He killed the desk attendant. Glad to see you took care of that weasel," the dog said.

"My pleasure, sir; the authorities will arrive shortly," Fox assured Walter.

Fox and Krystal helped the dog get to his feet; he thanked them and left the room. Hoping Panther wouldn't get up, Fox and Krystal remained in the room just in case. A couple of minutes later, a few police officers appeared in the room; they were all dogs.

"Nice work, Mr. McCloud and Ms. Krystal," one of them said. "We'll take it from here."

The other two men heaved Panther up, who suddenly snapped awake.

"Fox! FOX! You listen to me – this isn't over!" Panther screamed as he was being dragged away by the police.

Fox and Krystal looked at each other once they were alone.

"Should we go back to our houses?" Krystal asked.

"Yes; we need to take care of the guards Panther sent," Fox replied.

"No need," said Krystal. "I made sure the police went to both of our houses too."

Fox smiled with relief. "Smart thinking! I'll get you back to your house, and then I need to make sure Bill is alright."

Krystal followed Fox back down the stairs and into his car.

_He better not have killed Bill… _thought Fox.

However, he tried to retain a weak smile for Krystal as he drove her home. Once they arrived, they were relieved to find no damage had been done to her house.

"Thanks for the ride, Fox!" Krystal said. "Try to get some sleep!" she added as she left the car.

_The keyword there was 'try'. _Fox thought depressingly.

_I just wish I could tell her how much I love her…_


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Peppy Hare sighed heavily as he continued to go through the stack of paperwork sitting on his desk. It was yet another boring and repetitious day at work. Suddenly, a police officer and Cornerian general (both dogs) came into the room.

"General Peppy – may we have a word?" the police officer inquired.

Peppy nodded. "Of course; please have a seat."

Both of the men seated themselves in the two chairs in front of Peppy's desk.

"We were wondering if we could have permission to test Project 217," the police officer cut to the chase.

Peppy's eyes jumped in shock. "Project 217?"

"Yes, sir," the police officer continued. He then gestured to the Cornerian general, "Mr. Williams here thinks it's ready for testing."

Peppy suddenly stood up from his desk chair. "I told Mr. Williams already that by no means Project 217 is ready for testing!"

The Cornerian general suddenly stood up as well. "And may I ask why not?"

"The side effects may currently include insanity, unbridled rage, and lack of empathy; we're still trying to perfect the formula!" Peppy retorted.

"We've been working for years now!" Williams angrily replied.

"Regardless, it is NOT ready to be used on any living soul!" Peppy responded.

The police officer stood up last. "Please stop arguing and hear me out, General Peppy; we wanted to test Project 217 on a criminal! He's guilty of multiple murders and possible rape among other crimes. We just got him in jail this morning, but he's caused us plenty of problems in the past."

Peppy started to reconsider, knowing that the formula would be used on a criminal. He had always hated crime, as it had killed James and Pepper. He solemnly nodded to both of them.

"I suppose I can grant permission for this one usage," Peppy agreed. "However, if I discover it is used on anyone else, I assure you that the formula will be scrapped."

The police officer grinned. "Don't worry, General Peppy. No one has ever escaped our prison!"

Meanwhile, Panther Caroso was angrily staring at the floor of 'Smither's Prison' as he was being dragged along by two officers. Half his mind was plotting revenge against Fox, while the other half was plotting how to escape this prison. He would not let anyone make him stay here…

He was surprised to discover his roommates were Wolf O'Donnell and Leon Powalski in the next room; he took notice there was one room dedicated to Star Wolf members. The police officers shoved him inside the cell, locking it behind them. As they left, the former group began to stare at each other.

"Well, well, well," Wolf broke the silence. "Look what the cat dragged in."

"You made it real far without us," Leon chimed in with a chuckle.

Wolf was slightly taller than average, wore an eye-patch across his left eye, and was wearing his usual dark blue attire; he also appeared quite muscular. In comparison, Leon was a skinny, scaly-green chameleon with a purple armored suit. Panther was wearing his usual gray and blue suit. His fur was dark blue, and his eyes were an ugly yellow color.

"I can see you did much better," Panther commented.

"Is that a threat, kitty?" Wolf retorted.

"What if it is?" Panther spat back.

Before the argument could escalate, another police officer came into the room.

"Which of you is Panther Caroso?" he demanded.

Panther rose with a confused look. "What do you want with me?"

The police officer grinned. "You're going to be a part of a nice little science experiment…"

Though his expression remained confused, Panther decided to follow the police officer anyway; what choice did he have? Still, as he trailed behind the officer, his anxiety continued to build. Eventually, they arrived at a small room with bulletproof glass. Another dog in a lab coat handed a vial full of turquoise liquid to the police officer.

"What are you doing?" Panther asked as his nervousness climaxed.

The police officer forced Panther's mouth open, pouring the liquid inside. Panther was instantly gagging at the horrible taste. The officer continued to pour it in until the entire vial was drained.

Panther coughed wildly as the officer laughed, stepping back to join the other dog. After about a minute, the cat collapsed on the ground. Suddenly, the officer's laughing ceased.

"Was that thing strong enough to kill him?" he turned to the other dog.

The dog in the lab coat replied, "I'm not certain. But if it was, I'm sure he deserved it."

He continued, "I'm a doctor; I'll go check."

The dog in the lab coat cautiously approached Panther's unmoving body. As soon as he tried to check his arm for a pulse, Panther sprung up and threw the dog into the wall with a mighty force. The police officer gasped, and began to take out his blaster. Panther was too quick; he ran as fast as he could, snatching the blaster from the officer's hand and hitting him hard on the head with the gun. The officer fell to the ground unconscious, and Panther began to snigger as he stole the keys to the building and left the room.

Leon was sitting in his cell alone; Wolf had gone to the bathroom next to them. The chameleon was caught off guard when the door opened, and he saw Panther. His eyes narrowed at his former teammate.

"So what was that all about?" asked Leon.

Panther said nothing, inching towards Leon more.

"I asked you a question; are you gonna answer?" Leon spat.

Panther suddenly pulled out the officer's blaster.

Leon's eyes grew big. "Now, wait a minute! I didn't do anything to you; it's all Wolf's fault for kicking you off the team!"

Panther smiled as he drew near Leon. "Did you do anything to prevent him, you scumbag? You're a coward; the world's better off with less of your kind."

Leon suddenly curled into the corner with his hands in front of himself. "Please, don't kill me! Please!"

Panther cackled as he clicked the trigger of the gun in Leon's direction; the laser hit the chameleon in the head. Panther continued to shoot the gun, sending more wounds into Leon's dead body while hysterically laughing. The cat spun around in circles, a smile spread across his face. At last, he turned to leave Leon's dead body and escape his short imprisonment. Meanwhile, Wolf had been watching the entire incident from behind the wall.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Well, I'm glad you're alright," Fox said to Bill Grey over the phone.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about all this Fox," Bill replied. "I tried to fight back, but he was too strong. It's just a relief Panther's behind bars."

The two friends had just been discussing Bill's run-in with Panther when he was trying to get information about Fox. Fortunately, Bill hadn't even been injured.

"Don't even worry about it Bill," Fox assured his friend. "I was going to pay ol' Peppy a visit later on today. I'll talk to you later!"

"Bye Fox!" resigned Bill.

After hanging up the phone, Fox gazed out the window and sighed. He felt like his last conversation with Peppy hadn't been very satisfying.

_But hey, I can talk to him whenever! _Part of Fox's brain was saying.

The other half still felt guilty over making Peppy sadder. However, Fox was sure that he would be more than happy to see him again. It would also probably be a good idea to see Falco and Slippy again sometime soon.

Unexpectedly, Fox's phone started to ring again. He suspected Bill had just forgotten to say something; he picked the phone up again.

"Yo, Foxie!" the voice said.

Fox instantly recognized Falco's voice on the other end.

"Hey, Falco! What's up?" Fox returned the greeting.

"I got some very special news for ya and the rest of the gang," Falco went on.

"Go on," Fox said.

"Katt and I are getting married!" Falco happily announced.

Fox sensed Falco's smile on the other end. Fox smiled to himself, happy for his friend. However, it was still surprising news since Falco wasn't the type to settle down.

"Congratulations; that's excellent, Falco!" Fox said. "Did you already tell everyone else?"

Falco chuckled. "You're the first to know besides me and her, buddy! I'll let Slippy, Krystal, and Peppy all know soon. I just proposed to her last night, and you should have seen how fast she accepted; I've never been this happy before!"

Fox suddenly thought of Krystal, and his smile started to fade. He would never be happier if she wanted to marry him. But he didn't know if she loved him like Katt loved Falco. He was somewhat scared of rejection; however, he felt inspiration from Falco's news.

"Well, I'm excited for you," said Fox. "We'll have to talk all about it later…"

"Why don't you come over to my house? I'll invite Slippy and Krystal over too; it'll be just like a team reunion!" Falco suggested.

"Sounds good," Fox agreed. "But what about Peppy?"

"You know him," Falco started. "He's probably too busy in his office work. I'll just give him a call about it later. So, just be here as soon as you can; I'll get the others to come."

"Ok – see you soon, Falco," Fox said, and the two hung up simultaneously.

An hour later, Fox had arrived and was waiting in Falco's house for the others. It was easy to tell that Falco hadn't been lying; Fox had never seen him this happy. It was still pretty surprising that Falco and Katt got serious; before this, their relationship had been fairly unstable. The two friends waited together on Falco's blue couch for the others to arrive.

"You know what? You're gonna be my best man Fox!" Falco said suddenly.

Fox felt honored to hear such a thing. All of a sudden, the moment was interrupted as a loud knock came at the door. Falco ran over to the door, muttering 'must be them!' Falco opened the door to reveal Slippy, his usual smile on his green face.

"Hiya Falco! Fox! Long time no see!" Slippy said as he walked into the house.

Slippy took a seat on the chair, while Fox and Falco were on the couch. A few minutes later, Krystal arrived and took a seat next to Fox. Falco smiled again, standing up from his couch seat.

"Glad everyone could make it!" Falco welcomed them.

"As I told you over the phone, I have a special announcement to make: Katt and I are getting married!"

The news was received positively from Krystal and Slippy, who instantly congratulated their teammate. The four went on to jubilantly discuss things together, happy to be reunited.

Meanwhile, Panther Caroso was walking in the direction of Peppy's office at the Cornerian Army Center. He had snuck in by killing a Cornerian Officer and stealing his uniform; he was furious to learn Peppy was responsible for allowing the usage of Project 217 on him. He found that out from the officer he had just killed.

Finally, once he arrived at the door, Panther kicked it open so it swung into the wall with a loud thud. Peppy jumped backwards out of his seat against the wall. Panther shut the door behind him, and began to approach Peppy with a gun.

"W-who are you?" Peppy asked with a tremble in his voice.

"I'm you're 'science experiment'… hehehe!" Panther replied, coming closer to Peppy with the blaster.

Peppy got back to his feet. "What's your name?"

Panther smiled again. "My name should be worthless to you. I thought you would never be so low as to authorize the usage of Project 217."

"They told me it was a low-life criminal that it would be used on!" Peppy retorted. "Who are you?"

"I'm Panther Caroso," Panther gave in. "Now listen here, bugs bunny; you're coming with me out of this building silently."

Peppy's expression became confused. "I don't understand! I thought you were after revenge; why not just kill me now?"

Panther gave a hollow laugh. "I won't deny that it's awfully tempting. However, for now, you're part of a much bigger plan I'll explain later."

Panther hit Peppy on the head with the gun, causing the rabbit to fall to the ground unconscious. Grinning with satisfaction, Panther stuffed his gun away and started writing a note. Once he finished, Panther left the note on the desk and fled the building with Peppy.

Meanwhile, Falco had just dialed Peppy's phone number with no response.

"That's not like him," Fox said.

The rest silently agreed.

Falco's phone started ringing right after the call. Expecting Peppy, Falco went over to pick up the phone.

"Falco! I have horrible news; Panther and Wolf broke out of jail!" Bill started.

"What?" Falco said incredulously.

"It's true! I just saw the newspaper; Peppy authorized the usage of this drug called 'Project 217' on Panther, and he busted himself out of jail! Wolf mysteriously disappeared too, and Leon was shot dead by Panther as well!" Bill explained.

"Wow, that's crazy!" Falco exclaimed.

"That's not all," Bill said, his voice lowering. "Peppy was taken by Panther too! He left a note behind for Fox."

"I'm going to the Cornerian Army Center," Fox announced. "I'll check out the note and try to get Peppy."

Krystal jumped up from her seat.

"Let me come with you; it could be dangerous!" she suggested.

"No," replied Fox. "I want you to stay with Falco and Slippy to make sure you stay safe."

"Fox will be there soon, Bill – bye!" Falco said, hanging up the phone.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Fox's car came to an abrupt stop in the parking lot of the Cornerian Army Center. His head was filled with mixed emotions; anger, sadness, and panic. He slammed the car door behind him and ran at full speed toward the front door of the building.

The guard up front automatically let Fox pass since he was the leader of Star Fox. Since he had been to the room before to see General Pepper, Fox easily navigated his way the Cornerian General's room. Once he arrived, he found Bill and a few other soldiers at the crime scene.

"Where's Peppy?" Fox immediately asked.

"Initially, we had no idea," Bill said. "For some reason though, Panther left this note behind for you with his location. Take look."

Bill handed Fox the note. It read: _This message is targeted for one Fox McCloud – I'll bet you're dying to know where your dear old general friend is at. Look no further than the abandoned cathedral west of here. I'm already anticipating our next meeting, hero! – Panther_

Not only did he reread it, but Fox analyzed the message as well. After going through it more, he turned to face Bill again.

"This doesn't sound like Panther wrote it," Fox said at last.

"It's him all right," Bill reassured. "I've been informed that Project 217 alters personalities from Peppy himself. Plus, who else would have captured Peppy?"

"You're probably right," Fox agreed. "No one's been to that cathedral in years; it makes sense that Panther would make it his hideout. Do you have any news about Wolf?"

"None at all," Bill answered briskly. "No one's reported sighting him at all. You don't think he's working with Panther do you?"

"No way," Fox said. "Wolf kicked Panther off his team, and then Panther killed Leon. If anything, they'd both be trying to kill each other. I'll go check out the cathedral alone; it'd be best for you and the other guards to stay here and make sure Panther doesn't return, just in case."

"Good luck, Fox!" Bill shouted after his friend as Fox left the room.

Meanwhile, at the old cathedral, Peppy awoke with his arms and legs chained up to the surrounding pillars. As he struggled to get free, he saw a dark shape coming at him slowly. In the next few seconds it was revealed to be Panther, wearing a blue suit with a rose on one side.

"Do you like the new attire?" Panther asked with a grin.

With no response from Peppy, Panther continued, "I really think it matches my personality. Well, it's great to see you up again, sleepyhead! Hahaha!"

"What do you want from me?" Peppy asked with an exhausted voice.

"From you? Hardly anything," Panther started. "You're just another part of the plan. You see, I left a note behind with our location for dear old Foxie. He ought to arrive fairly soon, see, so you were simply caught as bait for a bigger fish. Once the pup arrives, I'll knock him out as well!"

"Not a chance!" Peppy cried. "You'll be in a padded cell once Fox is through with you if you're lucky!"

Panther gave Peppy a huge grin. "Relax, Peter Cottontail. Just look on the bright side; when I'm out killing, you'll have company!" He finished with a hearty laugh.

Fox was speeding over to the cathedral as quick as he could.

_What if Panther had already killed Peppy? _Fox thought.

From the evidence, it seemed like Panther had become mentally unstable from Project 217. Fox realized he would need to proceed with caution once he arrived. After a while of driving, Fox finally arrived at a dark, abandoned cathedral. It was the tallest building Fox had ever seen.

After slowly exiting the car, Fox walked over to the entrance of Panther's hideout. Fox opened one of the huge, chestnut-colored doors and entered the cathedral. He noticed a rack holding a Cornerian Army Officer suit as well as Panther's traditional blue and gray suit. Suddenly the shot of a gun rang out, followed by a loud and sinister laugh. Fox spun around, looking on every side to find Panther.

"I'm thrilled to see you could make it! And your friend's been dying to see you too!" Panther's voice called.

"Where's Peppy? What have you done to him?" Fox yelled back.

"All in good time, my vivacious vulpine, hehehe!" Panther replied. "For now, I think it's time to put little Foxie down for his nap."

Fox suddenly felt the impact of something hitting him on the back of his head. He began to lose his balance, and he heard Panther's maniacal laughter behind him. Fox fell to the floor, and everything went black.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Rise and shine, Foxie!"

Fox began to stir as he heard Panther's voice again. Once he was fully awake, he realized he had been chained up by the arms and legs to a couple of surrounding pillars. He concluded that he must be on the second floor; he looked next to him to see Peppy as well, who appeared unconscious for now. Finally, he saw Panther smiling in front of him, dressed in a dark blue suit with a rose on one side.

"Didn't take as long I thought for you to come around," said Panther. "I'm sure that at this point you can guess why Peppy was captured!"

"Of course; to lure me here," Fox muttered. "You brought me here to kill me, right?"

Panther's facial expression turned to a state of fake-thinking. "Well, junior, I'll give you half credit; yes, I'm going to kill you – but not now! You're the grand finale, see? First, I'm going to slaughter everyone you've ever cared about, now that I have you locked up and helpless. But I did you a favor and got your general friend here to keep you company!"

"Has he been unconscious this whole time?" Fox asked.

"HAHAHAHAHA! I only wish, my virtuous vulpine! After I told him about the plan, I knocked him out again so that we could have some quality time to chat, just you and me!" Panther replied with a huge grin.

_What did that drug do to him… _Fox desperately thought.

"You won't get away with it," Fox said casually.

"HA, and why is that?" Panther retorted.

"If you kill any of them, the authorities will hunt you down and end you," Fox assured Panther.

"Who says I'm not risking my death?" Panther shrugged it off. "It's worth revenge on you. I'm sick and tired of you getting in the way of everything; I'll also be taking Krystal once I've finished everyone else."

"She'll never join you!" Fox shouted. "She'd rather die!"

"If you're so sure," Panther began, "then maybe I'll just have to kill her too. It may hurt me somewhat on the inside, but the only thing I have left is revenge! Anyways, if you'll excuse me, I've got people to kill – ciao!"

Panther began laughing crazily again, throwing his arms behind himself and running down the staircase and through the entrance. After a couple more minutes of helplessness, Fox heard the noise of footsteps coming close to him. Unmistakably yet oddly, Fox could make out Wolf's figure in front of him.

"Wolf?" Fox asked to make sure.

"Ya it's me, pup," Wolf said gruffly.

"What are you doing here?" asked Fox.

"I followed Panther here ever since he broke out of prison since I knew he was after you. As you might know, Panther's killed Leon, and I want revenge. I see he's also after your friends; we can't underestimate what that drug has done to Panther. So I'm asking you to join me in killing this nut-ball and calling off our rivalry for now," Wolf explained.

Fox felt happy to hear the news. "It's a deal; could you please take off the chains?"

Wolf untied the ends of each of the four chains connected to the pillars, giving Fox freedom again. Right after, Fox went over to Peppy and untied his chains; the old rabbit awoke to see Fox and Wolf.

"What's going on here?" Peppy asked.

"Don't worry Peppy," Fox explained. "Wolf and I are going to work together to take out Panther. Come on; we need to move quickly before he can kill anyone."

Peppy nodded, and Fox helped his old friend to his feet. The three exited the building and hopped into Fox's car. Fox began to drive them back in the direction of Krystal's house; it was fortunate that Falco, Slippy, and Krystal probably didn't separate from Falco's house.

"Panther hijacked a car from the Cornerian Army Center," Wolf said. "How will we make sure he doesn't kill any of them if they're at separate locations? And how does Panther know where they are?"

"Fortunately, I'm pretty sure they all remained at Falco's house since he gathered Slippy and Krystal; I told them to stay there," Fox replied. "Panther got addresses from my military friend Bill Grey. To my knowledge, he only knows where Krystal's house is excluding mine. First we're going to Krystal's house to see if we can get Panther."

Fox pulled his phone out of his pocket to call Falco. Fortunately, his friend's voice replied.

"Hello?" the blue avian said.

"Falco – it's Fox," Fox started. "Panther had kidnapped me and Peppy; Wolf freed me and he's working with us now to stop him. Is everyone else alright?"

"We're all fine here, Fox," Falco responded much to Fox's relief. "I made sure Krystal and Slippy stayed here like you said since we had no idea what was going on. Are you coming over here?"

"No – I want you to take Slippy and Krystal with you to the Cornerian Army Center. You should be safe there with Bill and the army; Wolf, Peppy and I will meet up with you later. Right now, I'm going to try to get Panther; I'm pretty sure he's headed for Krystal's house." Fox explained.

"I understand, Fox; be careful!" Falco warned.

"Talk to you later, buddy," Fox hung up.

Wolf turned to face Fox.

"I'll help you take out Panther; we should leave Peppy in the car where he's safe," Wolf suggested.

"Okay," Fox agreed. "We'll be there soon."

After a few more minutes of driving, Krystal's house came into sight. And sure enough, there was a Cornerian Army car parked in the driveway! Fox sloppily parked his car in a rush to get after Panther. Fox and Wolf jumped out of the car and went into the house; the door had already been kicked down by Panther.

Fox took the right side while Wolf took the left, both of them with their blasters out. Wolf suddenly spotted Panther smiling down a hallway with a gun; reacting out of instinct, Wolf quickly shot his former teammate first. Fox heard the gunshot and came running over to Wolf. They were both dismayed to discover he had only shot a dummy.

The real Panther approached them from behind with his gun. "I should have suspected the GREAT Fox McCloud would get himself out of that. Good to see you again too, Wolf!"

Fox and Wolf quickly spun around simultaneously and aimed their guns at Panther.

"It's over, Panther!" Wolf declared. "You're clearly outnumbered!"

Laughing, Panther slowly inched away from them. "So I see Krystal isn't here. Just remember; this isn't over yet!"

Panther made a mad dash away from his opponents. Fox and Wolf ran after Panther in hot pursuit out of the house, shooting their blasters at him as well. Panther unexpectedly turned around quickly and shot Fox in the arm. Fox yelped in pain, clutching his wounded arm. Wolf continued to chase after Panther until the cat managed to escape into his car, cackling madly as he drove away.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Get in the passenger seat," Wolf said to Fox.

Fox continued to hold onto his injured arm; the pain was excruciating. Without hesitating, Fox let Wolf take the wheel and let him drive. Peppy's eyes were jumpy.

"What just happened?" Peppy nearly yelled at the sight of Fox's wounded arm.

"Panther set us up," Fox started. "He shot my arm and took off as soon as he realized Krystal wasn't here. We'd better go back to the cathedral and finish him."

"Are you crazy?" Wolf exclaimed. "We can't finish off Panther now; we have to get back to the Cornerian Army Center and get you rested up."

"Ya, I guess you're right," Fox agreed weakly.

"Of course he is, Fox!" said Peppy. "You're in no condition to fight anyone right now; we'll be safe back at the base."

"Just give me the directions, Peppy," Wolf instructed.

Peppy did as he was told and guided Wolf along the streets. Fortunately there was little traffic, and Krystal's house wasn't too far from their destination. Once they arrived, Bill Grey had already rushed out of the building to greet them.

"What happened to Fox?" Bill was enraged.

"Panther shot him," Wolf explained. "Did the others arrive yet?"

"Thankfully, yes," Bill replied. "Quick, come inside!"

The four went into the building and Bill went over to the wall and pressed a button to speak into the intercom.

"This is General Bill Grey. All staff members are to either leave now or remain in the building for the rest of the night. I repeat all staff members are to leave now or remain in the building for the remainder of the night."

"Follow me," Bill instructed the other three.

Fox, Wolf, and Peppy followed Bill down a few hallways until they came to a lobby where they reunited with Krystal, Slippy and Falco. Krystal immediately ran over to Fox and threw her arms around him. As soon as she saw the arm wound, her eyes began to water.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"Panther shot me," Fox replied. "He escaped as soon as found out you weren't there."

"So what's the plan now?" Bill asked.

"We rest here for a while," Peppy replied. "With tight security, there's no way Panther can come here."

"If I took a squadron with me to his hideout, Panther wouldn't stand a chance," Bill thought aloud.

"No," Fox said quickly. "Panther would have foreseen that; we can't underestimate him at all."

Bill nodded, trusting his friend's judgment. "Okay; well for now, let's just get some rest. If you'll all follow me, I'll show you to your cabins."

After Bill had directed Krystal, Falco, Slippy, and Wolf to their guest rooms, he finally showed Fox his last; Bill and Peppy already had rooms. Fox's room looked comfortable; there was a regular-sized bed, a dresser, and nightstand with a lamp as well. Fox thanked Bill as he went to lie down on his bed.

A few minutes later, a knock came at the door. Fox called "come in", and much to his surprise, Krystal entered. She took a seat on the bed beside him and began to massage Fox's injury.

"Thank you," Fox began. She managed to take away some of the pain.

"It's nothing," Krystal replied. "I'm so worried about you; one moment you're after Panther and the next you're shot! Please, let me stay with you tonight."

Fox sat up to look at her. "You mean sleep here? I guess I can take the floor."

"No," Krystal began. "Can't we share a bed? Just for tonight? I'm scared of losing you…"

Fox blushed, surprised to see Krystal offer such a thing.

"Of course, if that's what you want," he said. Then, he finally decided it was time to tell her. "Krystal, there's something I've been wanting to tell you…"

"Yes, Fox?" she asked.

"Krystal… after all the times we've been through together… I've come to… fall in love with you…" Fox finished quickly.

Krystal began to come closer to Fox, making him more nervous. She smiled and closed her eyes. Before he realized it, the two began to kiss; Krystal's arms were wrapped around Fox, and he had never felt happier. Once she released, she replied, "I love you too, Fox."

Meanwhile, Panther was busy navigating back to the cathedral in the Cornerian Army car. On the way, he spotted a good-looking cat walking on the street with her arms crossed. His lips split into a wide, devious grin, and he parked the car on the sidewalk. He jumped out of the car and approached the cat, who now looked afraid.

"Hello, beautiful," Panther approached Katt Monroe, he grin retained on his face.

"Get lost, creep!" Katt said, walking faster.

"Why so serious, lady? I just wanted to say hi," Panther said, increasing his own speed.

"I said go away!" Katt shouted, trying to get away from Panther.

Panther's smile started to lessen and his tone lowered, "I can be nice or angry, lady. If I were you, I'd choose the aforementioned."

When Katt ignored Panther, he wildly lunged and tackled her. She struggled to break free, but Panther was too strong. His smile was now completely malicious, his eyes full of hatred.

"I see…" Panther began. "You'd rather go down the hard way."

He suddenly pulled out a very sharp knife from his suit pocket, and began to bring it close to Katt's eyes.

"Tell me Miss; are you scared of dying? Cuz you might wanna rethink that quickly before I carve your face!" Panther screamed, drowning all other noises with his maniacal laughter.

Katt felt tears staining her cheeks. She suddenly pictured a life she could never have: a life with Falco, with children, with happiness… the picture died in Katt's memory as her life came to an abrupt end.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Fox and Krystal slept in, but no one disturbed them. Once they were both awake, they were both reluctant to leave the bed. Krystal kissed Fox again, keeping her arms around him.

"Good morning, Fox," she murmured.

Fox returned the welcome and finally got up from bed. Still, it had been the best night's rest he had ever had. Krystal got up too and began to walk to the door.

"I'd better get back to my cabin," she said. "I'll see you soon, Fox."

"Bye," Fox called after her.

Once he was alone, Fox began to think about what he should do next about Panther. Was a full frontal assault too risky? He supposed for now they could take their time though.

Falco suddenly came into the room without knocking. Fox stood up from the bed.

"What's wrong?" Fox asked.

"We forgot about Katt…" Falco replied. "I tried calling her four times so far, and she hasn't answered…"

Fox suddenly felt guilty again. He should have been the one to remember; he was the leader in this. He knew Falco would feel even worse since it was his fiancée.

"I'm going after her," Falco declared.

"Wait! We're supposed to stay here, remember?" Fox reminded Falco.

"I don't care," said Falco. "She always answers her phone; I don't what the heck's going on, but I'm gonna find out. See ya, Fox."

Falco left the room in a huff. Fox felt sorry for his companion; he was also praying that Katt was alright. Knowing Falco, he might take it out on Fox. Fox might never forgive himself if Katt died out of his irresponsibility. On the other hand, he knew it was mostly Falco's fault since it was him who was getting married to her. Either way, all Fox could do was hope for now…

Fox decided to go out to the dining room for breakfast now. He figured almost everyone had already eaten by now. After walking through a few corridors, he found Peppy, Wolf, and Bill at the dining room table. Fox went over to sit with them.

"I assume Falco told you about Katt," Bill started. When Fox nodded, he continued, "I let him leave for now; I understand how important she must be to him."

"Also, we need to get supplies," Peppy added. "I was wondering if you wanted to help me bring it home, Fox."

"Sure, Peppy," Fox replied. "We should probably wait for Falco to get back here first, though."

"There's one more thing, though…" Bill said.

"What's that?" Fox asked.

"Wolf said he needed to speak with you privately about something," Bill explained.

Wolf nodded, standing up from chair.

"Alright," Fox agreed, and he followed Wolf back to his cabin.

Once the two were alone, Wolf's face became serious.

"There's something I need to tell you that I never planned on telling you before," Wolf began.

Fox nodded, ears listening in anticipation of what was coming.

"Andross didn't kill your father," Wolf stated. "Panther did."

Fox's jaw dropped; he was completely unbelieving of what he had just heard. This whole time, he didn't even know who had killed his father!

"What? How do you know?" Fox asked.

"I was there when it happened," Wolf explained. "After Pigma betrayed Star Fox, he turned James over to Andross of course for his profit. However, Andross had a new recruit named Panther Caroso. Andross told Panther that if he killed James and proved his worth, he'd have a higher ranking in the army. Once Panther had gone ahead and killed James, Andross kept his promise and rewarded him with the rank of admiral and increased his salary. Eventually, Panther showed enough promise to the point where Andross insisted he could have a place in Star Wolf. However, Andross was supposedly destroyed by you shortly afterwards. Even though Andross had been revived on Planet Sauria, I didn't know at the time. During that time though, Andrew Oikonny left our group and I kicked Pigma out due to his disgusting greed. Once the spot was open, I decided to let Panther into our team since Andross was dead and only Leon and I had been left. I understand this must be hard for you to take in, but it was Panther who killed your father."

Fox stared at the ground, absorbing the fullness of Wolf's story. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He felt angry and sad at the same time. But now, he felt he had a renewed energy for killing Panther.

"Thank you; I'm glad you told me this," Fox said at last.

"I felt you needed to know now that we're not enemies," Wolf said. "I already told Peppy."

Fox nodded, and quietly left the room. He had never hated anyone as much as Panther right now. All Fox wanted to do at the moment was strangle that creature to death. After keeping this thought in his mind for at least an hour, Fox decided it was time to cool off for the time being. However, when he went into the main lobby, he was greeted by an unpleasant surprise.

Falco was wailing in anguish, his hands covering his eyes. Katt's dead body was on the ground in front of him; her face had been completely cut up, some gashes deeper than others. She had also been stabbed through her chest several times it appeared.

Fox had never been so angry in his life; he had never seen a murder so sickening and gruesome. He instantly knew it was Panther's fault, too. Soon, all the others arrived to see what had happened. Fox knew at that moment that killing Panther was the only way he could be satisfied.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Since no one was in a hurry, Katt was given a brief funeral indoors the following day. Almost everyone cried at least a little, mostly because of the pain Falco was enduring. Fox still felt guilty while he knew he shouldn't. After the funeral was over, Falco went into Fox's cabin to talk to him.

"Katt was pregnant," Falco announced, holding back tears.

Though it seemed impossible, Fox felt even worse than before. Suddenly, Falco began to break down crying again; Fox felt misery seeing his best friend in such a state. He would get revenge on Panther…

"I'm so sorry, Falco," Fox said.

"I don't even wanna keep living, Fox," Falco continued. "Without her, life is meaningless to me. I've never been so hurt in all my life…"

Fox suddenly snapped back into his usual attitude. "You're going to keep living, Falco. We're going to finish Panther once and for all soon; trust me."

After a moment of silence, Falco turned to Fox and nodded. "Please kill him…"

Following the request, Falco abruptly left the room. Regardless of his intentions on revenge, Fox felt terrible about Falco's loss. If he ever lost Krystal, his pain would be unimaginable.

Speaking of which, the blue-furred vixen came into his room as he was lost in thought. Both of them had something in common: they were lonely on the inside. They had both lost their parents tragically; Fox told her about Wolf's story while she visited, much to her shock. Krystal stayed with Fox talking until it was time for dinner.

Falco couldn't eat anything, while the rest ate very little. After everyone finished eating, Slippy's father Beltino approached Fox. Beltino was the research director of the Cornerian Army Center. They walked together into the hallway out of earshot.

"Good to see you again, Fox," Beltino greeted Fox.

"Good to see you too, Beltino," Fox returned the welcome. "So what do you need?"

"Project 217 is much stronger than anyone thought before," Beltino explained. "I did some research about it. First of all, there's no chance of Panther regaining his sanity; his brain was completely overridden by the drug. Also, the aggressiveness of the drug will escalate over time, causing Panther to become more and more violent."

"We can't afford that!" Fox cried.

"Eventually, the drug will become so powerful that Panther won't know what he's doing," Beltino went on. "There's still some time. However, I suggest that we act quickly."

"You're right," Fox agreed. "We can't wait much longer at all. Maybe I should take a few men and head out tomorrow."

Suddenly, the phone rang; Beltino rushed over to pick it up.

"Cornerian Army Center, how can I help you?" Beltino answered.

"HEEEELLP! HEEEEEEEELLLLLPPP!" a voice screamed on the other line.

"What's wrong?" Beltino asked.

"PLEASE, HELP ME!" the voice called again.

"Please, I need you to cooperate," Beltino said. "What's going on?"

"There's a… a… MADMAN attacking us!" the voice replied.

"Madman? Where are you located?" Beltino questioned.

"I'm at Walter's Grocery Store; PLEASE HELP!" the voice responded.

"Okay, okay!" Beltino said. "I'll send someone to get you immediately!"

As soon as he hung up, Beltino turned to face Fox.

"Panther!" they exclaimed simultaneously.

"I'm going right now," Fox declared, running back to the others.

"Peppy! Wolf! We need to leave right now!" Fox told them.

"What's the situation?" Peppy asked bewilderedly.

"Panther's attacking the grocery store; we just got a call from someone there," Fox explained.

"Let me come as well, Fox!" Krystal interjected, standing from her seat.

"Okay, but stay close to me," Fox decided. "The rest of you should stay here; let's go guys!"

Fox, Wolf, Peppy, and Krystal sped out of the building into Fox's car. There was just enough room for everyone to fit inside. Hoping to end Panther's antics, Fox drove toward Walter's Grocery Store at full speed.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The fortunate thing was that Walter's Grocery Store wasn't far from the Cornerian Army Center. The unfortunate thing was that the possibility of death was high. Fox knew how to get there quickly, and it was also lucky that traffic was oddly light. Once the blue car pulled into the parking lot of Walter's Grocery Store, the four jumped out of the car altogether.

They pulled out their blasters, running into the grocery store at full speed. Fox held his hand up for the others to stop; there was a trail of blood on the floor. Fox picked up a note at the start of the grotesque trail.

_Can you catch me Foxie? Follow the red road to find out! _

All four of them cautiously followed the blood trail down a few isles of groceries. Strangely enough, there appeared to be nobody there. Finally, they approached an unsettling sight: the body of the store clerk was pinned to the wall by a large knife. The words 'DEAD END' were written in blood on a white paper pinned through his chest.

Suddenly, Panther appeared behind them. Fox, Krystal, Peppy, and Wolf all spun around quickly to aim their guns at their enemy.

"Don't even try it, Panther," Wolf started. "You're clearly outnumbered."

Panther just continued to smile, and several guards appeared around him with machine guns. Fox instantly figured they were his few remaining henchmen before he had become insane. There appeared to be 10 of them.

"I'm so thrilled to see you could make it," Panther began. "For a moment, I was afraid you'd ignore my distress call!"

"It was YOU that called us?" Fox exclaimed.

"Of course!" Panther answered. "You're pathetically gullible and predictable. HAHAHA! I had to lure you out of your nest somehow, didn't I? I just forgot that it'd be so easy! Hehe!"

"What exactly are you after?" Wolf asked.

"I already told you, fool!" Panther threw back. "I'm going to kill every one of you, and Fox is my glorious finale! Hahaha! BLAST THEM, BOYS!"

Fox, Krystal, Wolf and Peppy, ran as fast as they could together, dodging the intense gunfire coming from all directions. After a moment, they all split up individually to try to take out the guards. Fox ran to take cover behind one of the grocery isles like his companions.

More laser-fire streaks hit the walls and floor, trying to intimidate Fox and his friends. Risking a look, Fox turned his head to see down the isle; two guards were running at full speed. Fox shot his blaster as quickly as he could, managing to shoot down one of the guards. The other tackled Fox to the ground.

As he was on the floor, Fox noticed the other three shooting at the rest of the guards. Fox threw a strong punch at his opponent's jaw, knocking him over. Fox kicked the guard hard in the head to make sure he stayed down. Another wave of laser-fire came at him; he narrowly avoided all the shots by ducking behind another isle.

Fox could see Peppy, Wolf, and Krystal had killed 4 more guards so far; that left four. Wolf was currently in a fistfight with a brawny guard, while Krystal and Peppy continued to shoot at two others. Fox saw a guard coming down a few isles away; before the guard could react, Fox shot him down.

It looked like Krystal had managed to shoot another one, while Wolf had just landed another kick on the brawny guard. Fox snuck up on the strong guard and kicked him from behind; the guard went tumbling to the ground. Wolf suddenly pulled out his blaster and shot the brawny guard five times. Fox turned to Wolf with a confused expression.

"For good measure," Wolf explained with a nod.

Suddenly, another gunshot rang out; this time it hit someone. Fox looked around until he found Peppy, clutching his chest in pain. Across from him was Panther, smiling with a smoking gun. Wolf began to shoot at Panther, who quickly left the building at that moment.

Peppy had fallen to the floor; his breathing was heavy. His pale red eyes turned to look at Fox one last time. Fox could tell that the old rabbit was trying to say something, but no words came out. A couple of tears began to slide down Peppy's cheeks, and his eyes closed for the last time. His hand was in Fox's as he died on the floor.

Fox's tears couldn't be controlled; this was truly the greatest pain he had ever experienced. Peppy had been a father to Fox, the closest thing that Fox had besides Krystal. Fox buried his head in Peppy's chest, his tears soaking Peppy's bloody jacket. Suddenly, the tears were gone and Fox stood up.

"Where's Krystal?" he turned to ask Wolf.

"Fox, the last guard took her; Panther and him are escaping!" Wolf answered.

Fox looked at Peppy one last time. It truly felt like Fox had lost two fathers at this point. He reluctantly accepted the fact that Peppy was gone…

"We're not letting them escape," Fox announced gravely. "We're going to rescue Krystal and we're going to finish Panther tonight."


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Panther, Krystal, and the guard were driving back to the cathedral. Panther constantly glanced behind them to make sure Fox wasn't following.

"Fox is going to rescue me and finish you!" Krystal cried in defiance.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Considering the fact that he's already let Peppy die, I'd be a little less sure if I were you!" Panther retorted.

Suddenly, they could see Fox's blue car coming after them. Panther growled angrily, pulling out his blaster to shoot the car. Smiling with his love of carnage, Panther pulled the trigger repeatedly, aimed at the car. Most of the laser-fire ricocheted against the road, while a couple other shots hit the front of Fox's car.

"Blast, I'm outta ammo," Panther said, tossing his useless gun out of the window.

"Step on the gas, Lloyd!" Panther screamed at his last guard.

Lloyd obeyed, stepping hard on the accelerator to get away from Fox and Wolf. After a minute, Panther could no longer see the blue car tailing them. He smiled with satisfaction.

"I told you not to rely on your boyfriend, darling," Panther shrugged, laughing excessively.

Meanwhile, Fox and Wolf continued to drive toward the cathedral.

"That's the only place they would go, right?" Wolf checked.

"Of course," Fox replied. "He's got nowhere else to hide."

"So why did we decide to take an alternate route?" Wolf wondered.

"To give Panther the slip," Fox answered. "When he sped ahead of us, I decided we may as well give him the temporary satisfaction. He's probably still expecting us to follow him to the cathedral though."

Fox continued to drive in the direction of the cathedral. Fox picked up his phone and began to dial some numbers while driving. After a few rings, Bill answered.

"Yes, Fox?" Bill picked up.

"Bill, Peppy's dead," Fox started. "And Krystal is captured. I want you, Falco, Slippy, and some other soldiers to make a perimeter around the abandoned cathedral. Wolf and I will take care of Panther; just secure the exterior to make sure he doesn't escape."

"Can do, Fox," Bill agreed.

Fox hung up, returning his full attention to the road. His heart raced unhealthily fast, hoping he would be in time to rescue Krystal.

Meanwhile, Panther, Krystal, and Lloyd had arrived at the cathedral. Smiling, Panther took Lloyd's gun, pointing it at Krystal to make her follow him. The three entered the abandoned church, and began to climb up the stairs.

"We're going to the top, sweetheart," Panther explained, keeping his gun trained on Krystal.

They continued to climb up the stairs; the cathedral had been reputable for being the tallest building in Corneria. Thus, it was a long trip for the three to reach the top.

Fox and Wolf had arrived in the meantime, parking the blue car away from Panther's. The two ran over to the entrance of the building. Wolf turned to Fox.

"Remember, don't hesitate; just act. Ready?" Wolf asked.

"Ready," Fox agreed.

Fox pushed open the large doors to the cathedral, and the two entered.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Fox and Wolf were extremely apprehensive as they entered the cathedral. Panther was nowhere to be found on the first floor; the two began to climb up the stairs after the enemy. However, the journey up was not to be a short one.

Just like the other three, it took Fox and Wolf a while to reach the top. Climbing stairs quickly became repetitive; stairs was the sole thing on their minds for the next few minutes, other than Panther and Krystal. After a while, the two finally came to the top room, where they saw a huge bell, wooden planks beneath them, and stone pillars around the room.

They began to walk around, searching for Panther and Krystal. Suddenly, an ominous laugh rang out.

"Do you like my new house?" Panther called out.

"Where are you, Panther?" Fox demanded.

"Closer than you think."

Panther suddenly kicked Fox from behind, sending the vulpine to the floor. Fox quickly got up before Panther could stomp on him. Lloyd suddenly appeared as well, and he threw Panther a spear. Wolf kicked Lloyd to the ground and shot the last guard dead with his blaster.

Fox suddenly spotted Krystal, tied up to a pillar nearby. The next moment, everything was a blur. Wolf suddenly had a spear sticking through his bloodied body, his eyes panicked and sad. Panther was holding it on the other hand, grinning menacingly.

"NOOOOO!" Fox screamed, but it was too late.

Panther threw Wolf's body off of the spear and onto the ground. Gasping for breath, Wolf turned to Fox one final time. Summoning the last of his strength, Wolf said with a raspy voice, "Kill him."

Fox suddenly threw a hard punch into Panther's jaw, sending the cat backward. Before Panther could retaliate, Fox threw another strong punch, this time into Panther's abdomen. The cat spat blood, and he tried to punch Fox.

Fox caught the punch in mid-motion, sending his other hand punching into Panther's face again. Panther stumbled to the ground, enduring the beating Fox had just dealt out. His eyes were becoming frail, something Fox hadn't ever seen before in Panther. Panther began to crawl away from Fox, moving to the large, open window in the wall.

"You killed my father," Fox said to Panther.

Panther said nothing for a moment, and then finally cracked a grin.

"Come on, Foxie; that was years ago!" Panther said, his arms flailing wildly in the air. "Forgive and forget, eh?"

"Never," Fox briskly replied. "Not after you killed Peppy and Katt and Wolf too. You're not coming out of this alive."

Panther kept a smile, despite his internal fear. "Is that a threat, my venomous vulpine?"

By this time, outside, Bill, Slippy, Falco, and more Cornerian soldiers had arrived. Panther could see as he craned his head to look over the side of the window.

"I see you brought backup too!" Panther spat more blood, laughing freakishly after.

"I told you already; you're not coming out alive," Fox repeated, stepping closer to Panther.

Panther laughed maniacally again. "I understand, Foxie, but you've forgotten one thing."

Fox cocked his head to a side. "And what's that?"

Panther's smile was still wide. "All who see my rose meet death."

"Fox, drop!" Fox heard Krystal shout at him.

Fox did as he was told, dropping his body to the ground. When he got up again, Panther had been impaled by a large spear; Fox turned around to see Panther had set a booby trap intended for him. Fox looked at Panther again, who now had more blood coming from his mouth. Panther kept a smile on his face, and fell backwards through the window, plummeting to his death.

Fox ran over to untie Krystal. "Are you alright?" Fox asked.

"Yes, Fox," Krystal replied. "I knew you'd rescue me."

The two remorsefully looked over at Wolf's dead body. The last creature Panther had killed was a great one. Fox would forever have a good memory of his former rival. Hugging Krystal close, the two began to make their walk down the stairs.

Meanwhile, the Cornerian soldiers, Slippy, Falco, and Bill surrounded Panther's body on the cement ground. Every one of his bones had been shattered upon the impact of his fall. A spear was still stuck through his unmoving body. Panther Caroso was smiling eternally in death.


	15. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Fox, Falco, Slippy, Krystal, Bill, and other Cornerian soldiers solemnly stood in the cemetery, giving their respects for the dead. Victims of Panther's massacre were given a designated area. Leon Powalski, Katt Monroe, Peppy Hare, Wolf O'Donnell, and many other citizens were buried together.

The funeral director had just finished his speech, and left the others to stand by the gravestones. Some tears still appeared; grieving would not be easy for anyone to overcome. While he was still distraught over Katt's death, Falco was a little better thanks to Panther's death. Krystal didn't lose anyone extremely close, but still felt bad mainly for Peppy and Katt. Bill was still sad about losing Peppy. Slippy was primarily gloomy about losing Peppy too, but the others almost as much. And Fox was, of course, depressed about everyone's death, but above all Peppy's.

After remaining for a few minutes, the gang began to leave the cemetery. Flowers had already been placed on all of the graves, and all the deaths would be remembered by Star Fox. Fox turned around to look at the gravestones one last time, and thought about his adventures with Peppy through space. Fox McCloud smiled to himself; his mission had been accomplished.


End file.
